Gee Radar

Heroes Remember

Gee Radar

We ended up being posted to RAF Bomber Command. I arrived at a place called RAF station in Marham in Norfolk on December 23rd, 1941, two days before Christmas. It was 115 Squadron of No. 3 Group, and the surprising thing was, we found they didn't have any radar. They had radar, now they had radar mix, but no radar. And they, they were flying twin engine Wellingtons at the time. And I'd say within maybe two weeks, radar equipment began to arrive, and it was called Gee, which was the navigational aid which proved very successful. We had never heard of it, we had never seen it, and we were expected to learn how to service it, install it. We did air tests on it. And you know, it's surprising how fast you learn. And the aircraft would come to us from the factory with the cables in, but we had to install the equipment, test it on the ground, and then air test it. And as I say, we learned pretty fast. Interviewer: How did the system work, Mr. James? Well, it had three transmitters, but as I recall it, there was a master transmitter which triggered two other transmitters, and these transmitters sent out a signal which was picked up by a receiver in the aircraft. And they were able to measure the time difference between receipt of both signals. And they had a special map, and they were able to plot where those two signals met. And it was so secret at first that we had to install detonators in all the units, including a cannister where they had the maps, where they stored the maps. And if the aircraft was going to crash and anybody was still alive or able to function, there were two buttons they could push and that would blow up the whole equipment. Or in the event of a crash where no one could get to the buttons, there was what they called a trip switch which activated if the aircraft landed very hard, and that would blow up the equipment. And the funny thing was, we were given the job of installing these detonators. And it was a very rush, rush job, as everything was in the air force. So, we had to do it at night because we didn't have time in the daytime. And here we were working out on the aerodrome at night, showing lights because we had to, because we couldn't see otherwise. And then the aircraft guards would come and tell us to put the lights out. So, we'd somehow worked our way around that, and we got them all installed. And it was two weeks later before they used them. It put a whole new slant on the bombing effort. It was evident that a lot of bombs were falling in places they weren't supposed to. You know, these fellas... I, I just admired them so much, how they flew in the night skies over Europe with so little navigational aid to try and find a place, with somebody shooting at them. And, and they did their job, but a lot of them, I'm sure, missed the target. But when Gee came along, the first two thou-, the first thousand bomber raid, which I think was on Cologne... I believe it was March 1942. It was selected because it was within range of Gee. And it was very, very successful. And gradually, of course, the Germans found a way of jamming Gee. And it became less effective as you got farther away from Britain, but coming back, the accuracy of Gee to bring them in over the aerodrome was phenomenal. I remember hearing in the training stage when they were training the navigators, the one thing that sold them is if they came back after a training mission and they were above cloud, and they could say the airdrome was down there and it was, I think that completely sold them on Gee.

Mr. James recalls when Gee radar was brought into service. He describes how it operated, installing the units complete with security, and how it put a whole new slant on bombing.

Albert James

Mr. Albert James was born in London, Ontario, on April 3, 1919. He attended school there until grade 13, before beginning work with D.H. Hauden and Co. - including years spent in the war, he stayed with the company for over 43 years. In 1940, Mr. James joined the London Militia, and on April 28, 1941, was called to report to the RCAF. After 4 weeks basic training in Toronto, a 14 week radio course at University of Toronto, and 5 weeks training at a RAF radio school in Clinton, he was posted overseas as a radar mechanic. He would eventually land in Gourock, Scotland, on November 23, 1941. From there Mr. James spent a short time in Yatesbury before being posted to #3 group, 115 Squadron with RAF Bomber Command. There he installed, tested, and maintained G radar - a new technology, introduced to aid in navigation, that would revolutionize bombing. In the fall of 1942, Mr. James was selected for project Mandrell and was sent to London to help assemble, and learn to maintain, new radar jamming units. He and other mechanics returned to RAF #3 Group to service the new units for squadrons in the area. Eventually he was promoted to corporal, and put in charge of one of the servicing units. In July 1943, Mr. James was promoted to Senior NCO in charge of the radar section for #75 New Zealand Squadron - RAF Bomber Command. He would remain as an administrator for the remainder of the war, returning to Canada on August 25, 1945. He received his discharge in October, and immediately returned to work.

Medium:: Video
Owner:: Veterans Affairs Canada
Duration:: 04:53
Person Interviewed:: Albert James
War, Conflict or Mission:: Second World War
Branch:: Air Force
Units/Ship:: RAF Bomber Command
Rank:: Sergeant
Occupation:: Radar Mechanic

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Date modified:: 2024-12-30